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CDT Complaint to FTC re:Mp3DownloadCity.com and MyMusicInc.com

The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) files this Complaint and Request for Relief with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) seeking immediate action to prevent harm to Internet users as a result of deceptive advertising by Mp3DownloadCity and MyMusicInc (hereinafter “download websites”) and/or their subsidiaries and/or affiliates. This matter is within the Commission’s jurisdiction over unfair and deceptive trade practices.

The download websites claim to offer “100% legal” downloads in exchange for a subscription fee. In fact, they merely point users to filesharing software and provide instructions for its use. Users of these sites users are led to believe that they are purchasing a license to download and use songs and movies—much like they would on a licensed subscription service like Rhapsody or the new Napster.1 In fact, users are provided no such license, and if they follow the sites’ explicit invitations to download “movies still in theatres” or music by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, they may face substantial legal liability.

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